I only recently started preordering figures again but i'm starting to question the practice. What exactly do you get from saying "insert store, I will buy this figure from you once its released, here is my Credit card info"?

You don't get anything and it really makes me question the point of preordering items. Unless its an exclusive, why even do it? Its not like MP Ghost Starscream is going to disappear because you didn't preorder it from BBTS. You could still try tfsource, digital toys, toy arena, ebay, robot kingdom, Kapow... the list goes on and on.

With Video Games for instance, I preorder them because you usually get some kind of bonus. For example, God of War gave you the demo early, WFC was free DLC characters, before that, N64 Zelda had free Target exclusive figures and preordering SNES Donkey Kong Country at TRU gave you a free VHS behind the scenes flick . That is the reason why i'll go to these stores and say "Here is 10 dollars, hold a copy, thanks for the bonus"

I've used all the toy sponsors on this site and they all give fantastic customer service, no question. If I have some kind of defect, they will step in and offer a replacement or refund. Outside of a few customer complaints, because nobody can be perfect, all the stores mentioned are kick ass.

This is just my opinion so feel free to disagree but shouldn't they offer some kind of preorder bonus? I'm not asking for a free Henkei figure but something.... maybe some reprolabels? discount on future orders? Loyalty bonus?

Japan-based retailers, from my experience, do throw "Early bird" discounts to people that preorder. It's not like "Here's 50% off", it's more like "Alright, here it is at a significantly lower markup because now I know I'm not stuck with it".

I can honestly say I've never preordered and I never plan to. The day something is so exclusive that it can't be found is the day I decide I don't need it. Even the "Only 300!" black Animated Prime is pretty easy to find.

Ghost MP Screamer may not sell out but you can be sure FP's Bruticus addon will. So it makes sense to preorder somethings.

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Well, if you wait 5 years to find the add ons, yeah, it will be gone but... Warbot, City and DIA commander are all still in stock. The Superion upgrade is long gone but it didn't sell out overnight either.

I only ever preorder from BBTS, who already has my info and doesn't charge me to do it. Also, it's easy to find anything for the right price...but retail/the going rate is expensive enough for me, and I don't have time to look for lots of sweet deals on the secondary market.

Some things are just scalper bait, or will never ever be cheaper than at release. And yes, sometimes they do sell out of hot items right away. Might as well toss your hat in the ring and cancel when it makes sense.

I got back into pre-ordering figures with the first Wave of Generations. I got them from BigBad a couple weeks before I saw them in stores. Had I seen them in stores first I would have canceled my pre-order though. I basically see it as a potential avenue to get figures sooner. Least with BigBad that is. You can cancel anytime up until the figures arrives. (Maybe even 15 days after it hits too but I'm not 100% on that.) Find it in store, great, buy it and cancel pre-order. BBTS gets it first, great, less searching I gotta do.
-G

Pre-order is simply a guarantee(almost) that you'll get what you want. Some people just like that comfort of knowing that a few months down the road they'll get the figure they've been dying for at that time. For me I never pre-order Transformers stuff or GI Joe, but I will for some 1/6th figs.

This is just my opinion so feel free to disagree but shouldn't they offer some kind of preorder bonus? I'm not asking for a free Henkei figure but something.... maybe some reprolabels? discount on future orders? Loyalty bonus?

I like to pre-order so that I can guarantee that I'll be able to get a specific figure that I want.

I dont mind the 'hunt' but I dont always have time for it and living in Canada, we dont always get all releases. So I prefer to preorder those figures that I know I'll want and can rest easy knowing I dont have to search for that one figure that seems to be popular and sells out quickly.

I've been doing this for the past 5 years and some of the figures I've preordered, I find in stores within a month of getting the preorder, others I've never seen in stores. So in the end I feel it pays off for me.

Yes, because aside from the rarity issue with some figures, the store I normally order from does not get in large quantities and sometimes will not restock once they are sold off. From what I gather, they're a smaller company so they don't want to be holding stock. However because their prices tend to be about 10-20% cheaper than other online stores, it's well worth it to pre-order from them.

Well, if you wait 5 years to find the add ons, yeah, it will be gone but... Warbot, City and DIA commander are all still in stock. The Superion upgrade is long gone but it didn't sell out overnight either.

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Fair point regarding Superion addon however i prordered it at its original price. When it started selling fast, the price got bumped up. So there was a benefit to preordering.

Ghost MP Screamer may not sell out but you can be sure FP's Bruticus addon will. So it makes sense to preorder somethings.

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I pre-order a bunch of items at once to save on shipping, I usu chose the ship all at once option or POL at BBTS. That and if it's gonna be a hot item that may sell out, e.g. Sons of Cybertron Henkei(getting harder to find).

I pre-order a bunch of items at once to save on shipping, I usu chose to ship the all at once option or POL at BBTS. That and if it's gonna be a hot item that may sell out, e.g. Sons of Cybertron Henkei(getting harder to find).

Ghost MP Screamer may not sell out but you can be sure FP's Bruticus addon will. So it makes sense to preorder somethings.

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This..... Also when it is released its price has a good chance on going up seeing as how fast pre-orders have sold. Plus you know you are guaranteed one for pre-ordering early and no hunting is requierd.